I was in my final year of high school, and my deskmate found out I was writing a novel!

Ye Feng suggested that Chen Guowei handle the negotiations, which was also a form of training. If he wanted to increase his influence in the company, focusing solely on technology was unlikely to be enough in the short term.

He's not one of those rare geniuses.

Actually, this negotiation will definitely not be as simple as everyone imagines. Zhifubao is neither stupid nor a great philanthropist; it definitely wants to get more benefits.

So, although Chen Guowei was leading the team this time, he also brought a strong legal team. Before departure, clear boundaries were drawn; Chen Guowei was more of a symbol, and the main purpose was for him to gain experience and prestige.

Actually, Liu Wei wanted Ye Feng to go with her. Although Ye Feng was young, he was, after all, her former boss, and the one who had built the company from scratch and taken it public.

Ye Feng refused; he had already left the company, and he certainly wouldn't do something like this.

The atmosphere in the conference room on the 23rd floor of Zhifubao's headquarters was somewhat somber.

Chen Guowei and his negotiation team sat down on one side of the long conference table, unconsciously rummaging through their file folders; he was still very nervous.

Cai Lin, who was in charge of negotiations at Zhifubao, had graying temples and sharp, piercing eyes as he slowly and methodically reviewed the data.

"Mr. Chen, 30 million daily active users, that's really impressive data. No wonder it's a phenomenal product, able to reach a market value of nearly 60 billion in just two years."

"but!"

But this is something everyone can guess. The other party isn't stupid; finding fault before lowering the price is an old trick.

"You're only contacting us now because the penguins have left you with no other choice, aren't you?"

I don't know how they found out, but such a large company must have some channels, and you can guess some of it.

Chen Guowei picked up the teacup in front of him, took a sip to hide his nervousness, and then took a deep breath.

"Mr. Cai is joking. Although Tencent is a shareholder of our company, it cannot influence our decisions. As for having no way out, that doesn't exist. It's just a company development strategy."

Mr. Cai should already be aware of how popular the PC version of this game is. We've almost finished developing the mobile version, and its potential is self-evident. Now it's up to Zhifubao to break into the gaming market and grab a share of the profits.

A hint of surprise flashed in Cai Lin's eyes, then he smiled.

"Mr. Chen is quite direct. That's right, we are also interested in the gaming industry, but Zhifubao has a rule: either we don't do it, or we have enough say."

As he spoke, he raised his hand and gestured for his assistant to hand the documents to Zhou Ming and his group.

Zhou Ming didn't even look at it, but raised his head with a firm gaze.

"Mr. Cai, first of all, let me state our bottom line: we will not allow anyone to interfere with our operational decisions. The development, operation, and updates of the game must be decided by us!"

Cai Lin's face darkened.

"Mr. Chen, isn't that a bit too absolute? Without our distribution channels, how can your mobile game compete with Tencent's? I don't need to elaborate on Tencent's style, and our operations team is very mature. I believe we can take the game to the next level."

"You're newcomers to the gaming industry. The success of our PC games proves we have the capability to do and do everything I've said before. We won't compromise on this, even if it means partnering with Tencent, because we don't want our hard work to go to waste!"

Upon hearing this, Cai Lin's face darkened even more. What did he mean? Was he saying they were laymen?

However, they really are laymen!

"What we value is that Zhifubao's account penetration rate is comparable to that of Tencent, and the payment process is also very convenient. This should be a win-win situation for us. I don't understand what Mr. Cai is talking about."

"Then wouldn't we become your vassals?"

"What you gain is the usage rate and market share of Zhifubao. We're just doing this to have more channels. You... are not the only option!"

This is indeed true; Zhifubao is not the only option, nor is it even the optimal solution.

After all, ByteDance and NetEase are both excellent partners!

"We want 5% of the shares, with no interference in operations, but we want to participate in discussions about commercialization strategies!"

"There certainly won't be that many shares. Even if it's a private placement, Tencent definitely won't agree. We can't afford to completely antagonize Tencent over this."

"So what are you planning to do? We can't just provide one entrance, can we?"

"Actually, this works too~"

"Absolutely not! What if you guys end up partnering with Tencent one day? Wouldn't all our efforts be for nothing?"

Chen Guowei was speechless. It seemed the other person really didn't understand at all!

They even turned around and partnered with Tencent. How can they transfer accounts when they're not even linked? Unless they're worried their game is too popular and want to cool things down!

There was no other way, so Chen Guowei had to explain to the other party that this thing wasn't something you could just transfer and make money from. The data stored in the account couldn't be transferred without the cooperation of both parties, so it was unlikely that the two of them could reach this cooperation!

"Okay, 10%, no interference in operations!"

This had already reached Ye Feng's bottom line, but the clever Chen Guowei insisted on showing off his abilities and insisted on saying eight percent!

Actually, Ye Feng really wanted to sell 10%. Penguin had a little over 10%, but not much more, so that would create a balance.

But... well, I can't really say.

After some back and forth, the deal was closed at 90%.

The contract certainly won't be signed so quickly; there are still many details to discuss, such as promotional resources, which is where the most serious disputes arise.

Zhifubao thinks, "I only own 9% of the shares, how can you expect me to give you large-scale free publicity?"

The company, on the other hand, felt that this was giving Zhifubao a huge advantage, so why were you being so petty?

Actually, both sides are eager to finalize the decision as soon as possible, since they are both wary of Tencent.

Liu Wei basically goes to urge the game twice a day, hoping it can be completed as soon as possible so that it can be promoted.

She is really worried that the penguin will launch first, which would mean losing the first-mover advantage.

Ye Feng asked her to inquire about the progress at Tencent, but it was to no avail. All she knew was that they were indeed working on it, but she had no idea about the progress or anything else.

Chen Guowei stayed there for a full week before the talks finally ended, and everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

When both parties are very willing to cooperate, the negotiations are easy. You take a small loss here, and I'll give up something next time. There's no dragging things out because both parties know that time is money!